North West New Territory purchase decision help. (Sugar Land, Howe: rental, how much)

[asmd]

Hi,

we're looking to move to New Territory, primarily due to the elementary schools and access to work. we've looked at some properties in the north west area of new territory that come in our budget. we dont have that much to spend right now.. so this is more of an interim home, a stepping stone until we become dual income again. i digress.., i've read everything i can on the train noise in the area and even how in affects resale.

most of the threads are a year old, so im hoping to get a pulse on any improvements that may have been done to address the issue.
i know that the perception of train noise is subjective.. but its better in my opinion to accept subjective opinions to form my partially educated decision than to go at it blind. the area that we're looking at is adjacent to 90 and the rail line on the west side of new territory. most properties are less than 1000 feet from the railway line. (seems to me that only the northern area of NT have homes < 200k)

just how loud is the train horns at less than a 1000 feet? i mean there are houses all around that maybe ?buffer? the sound. its not exactly an open field. then again, ive read that residents in telfair complain about the noise and thats a fair distance away. Experiences with regards to train noise would be very helpful and much appreciated.

for those who have experienced it, how badly does this affect the resale value?

all help and replies will be very much appreciated.

regards,
asmd.

[CDeb]

We've lived in the eastern half of New Territory for just over a month now. Our home is about 675 feet from the railroad tracks. Over in western NT, many of the properties adjacent to 90A are much closer.

It's tough to say how much a particular property is going to be affected by the train horn until you've sat there and listened. One big factor regarding the train horn is how close the property is to crossings. Unless some dummy is on the tracks, the horn won't sound until the train is approaching a crossing. In our case, the nearest crossing is over 3,100 feet away (the prison entrance), so the horn is audible, but it doesn't bother us. It certainly doesn't wake us at night. In general, the rumble is much louder than the horn, but again, it doesn't bother us.

Another important factor is what lies between your house and the tracks. In our case, there is one house between us and 90 along our north-south street. We back up to a green belt that runs to 90, but there are trees on the green belt that block some of the sound as well. I'll be interested to see how much louder it is when the trees drop their leaves.

I've lived within 400 feet of a very busy railroad track, near a crossing. Let me tell you, THAT was LOUD. But, we got used to it and after the first night, it never woke me up. It was more annoying when you were talking on the phone or trying to watch TV.

I'm not as familiar with western NT, but I've been told that the RR tracks don't affect resale in eastern NT very much. You may get a little less than a house that's further away from the tracks, but if all of NT is increasing in price, a home near the tracks will increase as well.

[Topaz]

How interim is interim? If you plan to hold onto the house until 2017 when Sugar Land annexes New Territory, the problem will likely go away as Sugar Land will probably install the noise reduction wayside horns along the tracks in New Territory.

[asmd]

hi,

thanks so much for the replies.

btw... i need to edit my first post, its actually about 330 yards (1000 feet) away from the line.
interim = well the plan would be for no more than a couple of years. we may rent it out or sell it after. but in the end, work will dictate where we go.

the train noise is really a concern for us, so that why we're asking the opinions/experience of those who may lived in the northern part of new territory.

CDeb mentioned 400 feet = loud... i wonder how loud it would be at 1000 feet. theres 8 houses between the track and the property that interests us as the crow flies.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by asmd

the train noise is really a concern for us, so that why we're asking the opinions/experience of those who may lived in the northern part of new territory.

I lived in northeast New Territory for a year and the train noise was LOUD. But the house was a rental with terrible insulation, so that exacerbated the problem.

That being said, houses sell fine in New Territory because of the reputation of the schools. I think people care more about the schools than the train noise.

[asmd]

Where can i get a copy of the train schedule?
google wasnt much help.
think ill have to park myself there and wait for the train to apss to see just how loud it gets.

it is the school thats the main draw for us to move to NT.

[CDeb]

Originally Posted by asmd

hi,
CDeb mentioned 400 feet = loud... i wonder how loud it would be at 1000 feet. theres 8 houses between the track and the property that interests us as the crow flies.

At 1,000 feet with 8 houses in between, I'm guessing that you'll hear it if you listen for it, but it won't really be an issue from a quality of life or re-sale standpoint.

If you backed up to 90A, that would be a different story.

UP isn't going to be apt ot publish their train schedules, security reasons and all that. If you sat out there for about an hour, there's a pretty good chance that a train would pass in that time.

[asmd]

plan for today... go sit there and wait for train to pass.
its promising to know that the train may not be such a problem after all.
will report back what i think for other like minded folk house hunting in the area.

[mirjaja]

I live over near the Cunningham Creek Pool and the only time I hear the train at all is in the early am - ie. maybe 5 am (I don't really check the time) and it is not loud at all -- but that is more than 1000 ft from the tracks

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by asmd

Where can i get a copy of the train schedule?
google wasnt much help.
think ill have to park myself there and wait for the train to apss to see just how loud it gets.

it is the school thats the main draw for us to move to NT.

I have studied previous comments and have also spoken with a resident from NW part of the North Teritory - East (did I confuse you enough? .

Commens basically said that the train passes shortly after midnight. Not sure about 5AM.
The resident said that they normally pass winter time, after midnight. He lives right behind the wall facing the 90A highway (around 100 yards and 300 yards from the intersection).

If you are planning to sell it, there is a high demand for this area. So you have higher chances of selling it no matter what.
However from the comfort perspective it can be noisy at times.

So the final decision is yours.